Locking mechanism fob calculating



Dec. 18, 1934.

F. w. F. BERGER LOCKING MECHANISM FOR CALCULATING MACHINES Filed Feb. 24, 1933 FIG.,1

gmwntox Friedrich W. F. Berger y His d-Roamq Patented Dec. 18, I934 UNITED STATES LOCKING MECHANISM FOR CALCULATING MACHINES Friedrich W. F. Berger, Berlin, Germany, assignor to The National Cash Register Company,- Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Maryland Application February 24, 1933, Serial N6. 658,363 In Germany March 24, 1932 4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in calculating machines, and particularly to locking devices for releasing mechanism of motor-driven calculating machines.

The type of motor drive and release mechanism used to illustrate the present invention is substantially the same as that shown in Letters Patent of the United States No. 1,601,102, granted September 28, 1926 to F. W. Bernau.

It is well known in the art to have calculating, or bookkeeping, machines perform a plurality of successive machine operations without interruption by holding the motor key depressed.

This provision for successive machine operations sometimes becomes objectionable if, at the beginning of each machine operation, the paper carriage is to be shifted for selecting adding devices by the carriage stops in the usual manner.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to supplement the releasing mechanisms for motordriven machines of the type mentioned above,

withmeans to prevent release of the motor driving mechanism for a subsequent operation of the machine should the operator retain the motor bar in its depressed position at the close of an operation of the machine.

I It is another object of this invention to provide means for directly locking the clutch release member to prevent successive operations of the machine should the motor bar be held in depressed position between operations.

Another and more specific operation of the present invention is the controlling of a certain portion of the clutch release locking mechanism by the main operating mechanism of the machine, whereby the clutch releasing mechanism is locked until substantially the very end of the operation of the machine.

With these and incidental objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts, the essential elements of which are set forth in appended claims and a preferred form of embodiment of which is hereinafter described with reference to the drawing which accompanies and forms part of this specification.

Of said drawing:

Fig. 1 shows generally the motor clutch mechanism, the releasing mechanism therefor, and the locking device associated with the clutch releasing mechanism to prevent repeat operations of the machine when the operator holds the motor bar depressed at the end of an operation.

Detailed description The motor key 30 may be operated to release the machine when looking levers 31 and 32, actuated by certain keys or stops on the paper carriage (not shown) are moved into the position shown, out of the path of a pin 33 on a rocking plate 34 pivoted at 35 on a machine side frame 36. The rocking plate 34 also carries another pin 37 embraced by the bifurcated end of an arm 38 of a three-armed lever pivoted on a stud 39. A second arm 40 of the three-armed lever is connected by a rod 41 with the motor key 30. A third arm 42 of the three-armed lever carries a pin 43 engaging a recess in a clutch release locking lever 45 pivoted on a stud 46 supported by a motor frame 47 secured to a machine base 48.

The lever 45 has a flange or lip 55 normally cooperating with a pawl 56 carried by clutch disk 57, which disk is the driven member of the clutch.

The driving member of the clutch is operatively connected to a gear 58 driven by a worm 59 on the armature shaft of a motor 60.

When the motor key 30 is depressed the arms 88, 40, and 42, of the three-armed lever are rocked clockwise by means of the pin 37 and the rod 41, thus disengaging the pin 43 from the recess 44 in'the clutch release lever 45. As the pin 43 is removed from the recess 44 a spring 61 rocks the clutch lever 45 counter-clockwise, disengaging the lip 55 from the pawl 56, whereupon the driven disk 57 of the clutch is rotated counter-clockwise by the driving gear 58.

It is to be'understood that the motor 60 is a constantly running motor and that the worm 59 and gear 58 are in constant motion. Pivoted on a stud '70 carried by the driven disk 57 is a link 71 connected by a stud 72 to a link '73, which in turn is pivoted to an arm 74 secured to a main operating shaft 75 of the calculating machine.

When the clutch release lever 45 is rocked counter-clockwise in the manner above described, the disk 57 is given one complete rotation, it being stopped at the end of such rotation by the usual stop lever '76. The rotation of the disk 57 causes a reciprocation of the links 71 and 73 whereby the arm '74 and main operation shaft 75 are oscillated first in a counter-clockwise direction and then in a clockwise'direction tothe home position.

As the arm 74 is being rocked clockwise toward its home position, the links 71 and 73 are at the same time being lowered whereupon the stud 72, whichstud projects throughthe links '71 and 73, contacts a formed finger 77 of the clutch release lever 45 and restores this lever clockwise to a position slightly past its normal position.

It will be clearly observed that the downward movement of the links 71 and 73 is also slightly toward the left, or front of the'machine, whereupon the stud '72 eventually slips off the finger 77.

When the lever-45 is restored in the manner just described, the pin 43 re-enters the recess 44 under the influence ofa spring 78 connected to the rocking plate 34.

, From the above description it will be perfectly clear that should the motor key 30 be held depressed, the clutch release lever 45-under the action of its spring 61 would immediately be rocked in a counter-clockwise direction as soon as the.

stud 72 passed off of the finger77, which of course again frees the motor clutch and the machine would immediately go through another operation.

In order to hold the clutch release lever 45 in its operative or looking position, after the stud 72 slips oif of the finger 77, a locking lever is pivoted on the stud 39. The forward end of the locking lever is adapted to cooperate with the forward end of the clutch release lever 45 and the rear end of the locking lever 90 is adapted to cooperate with the arm 74. A torsion spring 91 normally holds the rear end of the lever 90 in contact with the underside of the arm 74.

The clutch release lever 45 also carries a stud 92, adapted to cooperate with a latch 93 pivoted on the stud 94 carried by the machine side frame.

As the clutch release lever 45 is rocked clockwise slightly past its normal position in the manner previously described, the latch 93 under the influence of a spring engages the pin 92 and holds the clutch release lever 45 in its operative or looking position which prevents any movement of the clutch disk 57.

It will be remembered that upon the counterclockwise movement of the clutch disk 57 the arm 74 is rocked counter-clockwise. As it does so, the spring 91 tends to rock the lever 90 counterclockwise but is prevented from doing so at this time because the forward end of the clutch release lever 45 is lying immediately behind a foot 96 of the lever 90. However, as soon as the clutch release lever 45 is rocked clockwise by the stud 72 and finger 77, past its normal position, into position to be latched by the latch 93 the lever 90 under the influence of the spring 91 is rocked counter-clockwise whereupon the foot 96 passes beneath the forward end of the clutch release lever 45.

The motor key 30 is released before the arm 74 reaches its normal position, whereupon the spring 78 restores the motor key 30 to its underpressed position and the pin 43 is again moved into the recess 44. As it does so the spring 95, which is a very weak spring whose coils are closely wound, acts as a link between the arm 42 and latch 93 and disengages the latch 93 from the pin 92. However, the clutch release lever 45 is maintained in its locked position by the lever 90 until the arm 74 contacts the rear end of the lever, which is substantially at the very end of the operation of the machine. Contact of the lever 74 with the rear end of the lever 90 rocks the lever 90 clockwise against the tension of its spring 91 and releases the foot 96 from beneath the forward end of the clutch release lever 45. It then may be rocked very slightly in a counterclockwise direction by its spring 61 until the stud 92 assumes the position shown. This slight movement of the clutch release lever 45 is permitted, due to the fact that the recess 44 is of slightly larger diameter than the diameter of the stud 43 in the arm 42.

From the above description it can be clearly seen that the machine cannot be released for successive operations by the act of pressing the motor key 30 prior to' the end of the operation of the machine, because the clutch release lever 45 is maintainedin a locked position until sub- Furthermore, should the operator hold'the motor key 30 depressed and not permit it'to be restored by its spring 78, then the latch 93 will not be disengaged from the pin 92 which holds the lever 45 in a locking position, thus preventing the clutch from being released thereby preventing an immediate successive operation of the machine.

While the forms of mechanisms herein shown and described are admirably adapted to fulfill the objects primarily stated, it is to be understood that it is not intended to confine the invention to the forms of embodiment herein disclosed, for it is susceptible of embodiment in various forms all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:

1. In a calculating machine adapted to be driven by a continuously running motor, the combination of a main operating shaft; a clutch mechanism intermediate the motor and the shaft; a device for normally retaining the clutch mechanism in its ineffective position; an element to maintain said device in its normal position; manipulative means to actuate said element for rendering said device ineffective; means controlled by said shaft for restoring said device past its normal position; a plurality of members adapted to cooperate with said device to retain it in its past-normal position; means for restoring said manipulative means to its normal position to thereby restore the element to its effective position; means operated upon restoration of said manipulative means to its normal position for releasing one of said members from said device; and means intermediate said shaft and another of said members and adapted to be operated by said shaft at substantially the end of the operation of the machine to release said last mentioned member from said device.

2. In a calculating machine adapted to be driven by a continuously running motor, .the combination of a main operating shaft; a clutch mechanism intermediate the motor and the,

shaft; a lever for normally rendering the clutch mechanism ineffective; an element to maintain the lever in its normal position; manipulative means to actuate the element for rendering said lever ineffective upon operation thereof; means for restoring said manipulative means to its normal position to thereby restore the element to its effective position; means operated by said shaft for restoring said lever to a position past normal; a lateral projection on said lever; means adapted to be moved into engagement with said projection when said lever is moved to its pastnormal position to retain it in such position; a locking lever also adapted to be moved beneath the outer end of the first mentioned lever when driven by a continuously running motor, the

combination of a main operating shaft; a clutch mechanism intermediate said shaft and said motor; a lever for normally retaining the clutch mechanism ineffective; manipulative means adapted upon operation thereof to render said lever ineffective; means operated by said shaft for restoring said iever to effective position; a member adapted to cooperate with said lever and be moved therebeneath upon the movement of said lever to effective position; an arm integral with said member and adapted to be operated by said shaft to release said member from said lever; and another member, controlled by the manipulative means, adapted to be moved into engagement with said lever to retain the same in its eflective position, thus preventing release of the clutch mechanism when the manipulative means is held in its operative position.

4. In an accounting machine having a motor drive, the combination of a main operating shaft; a clutch mechanism intermediate the motor and the shaft; a device for rendering the clutch mechanism ineffective; means to maintain the device in effective position; manipulative means to withdraw said means, thereby rendering said device ineffective; means operated by said shaft for restoring said device to its effective position; a projection carried by said device; a hook adapted to engage said projection when said device is restored to its eifective position; means for re storing said manipulative means to its undepressed position to restore the first mentioned means to its effective position; means for releasing said hook from said projection on the device upon restoring of said manipulative means to its undepressed position; a finger carried by said device; a member adapted to cooperate with said finger and be moved therebeneath when said device is moved to its effective position; and means integral with said member and adapted to be operated by said shaft at substantially the end of the operation of the machine to release said member from the finger of said device.

FRIEDRICH W. F. BERGER. 

